When I was growing up, I lived for summer vacations and all the glorious free time it represented for me to bury my nose in a book. There was a library within walking distance of our house that could easily have become my home-away-from-home. I’d check out the maximum number of titles that I could (I think the limit was three), read them all by bedtime (and sometimes even under the covers with my Girl Scout flashlight), and then be back the next day as soon as the doors opened to check out three more. In retrospect, it’s probably why my favorite Disney heroine is Belle, for certainly if an enchanted beast had ever shown up in the neighborhood one day and given me the gift of my own enormous library, I’d have ditched my family in a heartbeat and lived happily ever after.
Times have radically changed, of course. Libraries across the country have fallen into trouble by virtue of their inability to compete with Internet databases. Many have been forced to cut back their hours or, in extreme cases, to close down completely. Even bookstores are hurting as a result of consumers who prefer the convenience of making their purchases online and uploading the latest bestsellers to their Kindles. For parents and teachers, one of the most dismaying by-products of our warp-speed technology is that the younger generation is losing any appreciation for the leisurely pace of curling up in a hammock with a glass of lemonade and reading a good story from cover to cover.
I was, therefore, heartened to discover www.motherdaughterbookclub.com, a website targeted to mothers and daughters who not only have voracious appetites for books but who are also looking for titles that they can read together and talk about with like-minded spirits. This wonderful resource which includes reviews, author interviews, and book club activities was launched by Cindy Hudson who graciously took time from her busy schedule to share why the joy of reading is a treasure we can’t afford to lose.
How and when was your own love of reading first ignited?
I've been getting lost in good books ever since I can remember. I grew up in the town of Plaquemine, Louisiana, where the library was housed in an old Victorian mansion. I used to love wandering through the rooms, each of which had its own personality. My favorite was the area that held fiction for children. It was in a sunny room full of windows in the front of the house. The conditions probably weren't the best to keep books in, but it was such a peaceful place to linger and dream about all the worlds I could travel to through the words on the pages.
What were your three favorite books (or authors) when you were a young girl and why did they leave a strong impression on you?
I love history too, so my favorite books were historical fiction.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare – Kit seemed like a modern girl with headstrong ways and a free spirit. But in the Puritan colony of Connecticut in 1687, she was in danger of being labeled a witch. I read it over and over again.
Drake, the Man They Called a Pirate by Jean Lee Latham – Sir Francis Drake was called a pirate by some, a hero by others. I fantasized about a life at sea in Elizabethan times as I read it every couple of years when I was growing up. It's hard to find now, but I tracked down a copy at my library a few years back and read it to my daughter, who was just as swept away by the swashbuckling adventure as I was. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – I was in high school when I first read this book. I really wanted to wear Scarlett O'Hara's dresses and have her courage.
Were your two daughters born with a “reading gene” or did you have to nudge them into discovering the joys of the written word?
My oldest daughter, Madeleine, was definitely born with a reading gene. My youngest, Catherine, grew into it a little more slowly. She first got hooked by reading nonfiction books about seahorses and cats and other living things. Now she devours fiction as much as Madeleine does, and we come home from the library every few weeks with arm-breaking stacks of books.
So tell us how www.motherdaughterbookclub.com got its start and how you went about publicizing its debut.
I was sitting at a meeting with Madeleine's book group when the moms were talking about how difficult it was to choose a book that fit the age of the girls, would be interesting for adults too, and would work well for a group. We lamented the fact that while there were plenty of sites on the Web that offered book reviews, none of them were geared to readers of both generations who met in groups. From there the idea grew until I thought, “I can put something together where moms and daughters can look for ideas, and if they send in their own ideas, it will grow as a resource for readers all over the country.” So I created the website with the reading lists from my own two clubs, and everyone in my groups sent in book reviews. I had no way to publicize it at first, but people started to find the site through Internet searches. The more content I added, the more people found the site and sent in their own recommendations. I've also been interviewed on the topic now for a few magazines and newspapers. Every time an article appears I hear from new readers! It's been just over a year, and it's very exciting for me to see the site becoming the resource I imagined it could be.
How many mothers, daughters and readers currently contribute to your website content?
I currently have book reviews and recommendations from a few dozen moms and daughters. And it's growing all the time. I'm working to bring more youth librarians on board as contributors as well.
Do you have to have a daughter or belong to a mother/daughter book club in order to join?
Everyone is certainly welcome to access the information on the site. I also accept recommendations from people who aren't in clubs. I find if someone is passionate enough about a book to spend time recommending it, it's probably worth checking out.
Where do sons fit into today’s reading picture?
Reading is important for everyone, sons as well as daughters, dads as well as moms. It's not surprising that a recent study by Scholastic, Inc. found that girls are more likely than boys to say that reading is fun. Yet the same report reveals that reading for fun declines for everyone as kids get older. And yet, it's also been proven that children who read better also perform better in school. I think almost anything you can do to keep kids of both sexes reading for pure pleasure is a good thing. That's one of the reasons I added a list of good books for boys to my Web site.
There is currently no shortage of distractions (primarily electronic) to entice the younger generation to do everything except read a book. In your opinion, what can parents do to get their offspring away from their computer screens and iPods and between the covers of a good read?
Visit a library and talk to a youth librarian. Start early by taking your children to story time and sign them up for Summer reading contests. A good youth librarian can help to spark a young reader's curiosity and get her excited about spending time with a good book.
What genres seem to be the most popular in your own club and/or stir the most discussion?
We probably read more contemporary fiction than anything else. But we also have read a hefty dose of historical fiction. Along with memoirs and science fiction, those genres are usually the ones that bring up lots of issues to discuss. We usually really enjoy reading the fantasy and mystery books that come up occasionally, but they don't typically generate as much discussion.
What is your club reading now and was it chosen by a mother or a daughter?
In Catherine's group we're reading The Beekeepers Apprentice, a mystery by Laurie R. King that was chosen by a daughter. And in Madeleine's group we're reading Looking for Alaska by John Green, which was chosen by the mom and daughter together.
Outside of the club, do you read one book at a time or do you usually have several going (and in various stacks around the house)?
Well, I'm in three book clubs, two mother/daughter groups and one group of couples that I'm in with my husband. And I like to sneak something in just for my own pleasure too. So I usually have to be reading several books at a time, which is something I never used to do. I manage to keep them separate though. I read to Catherine in the mornings before school, I have one book that I read only at lunch, and I have another I read only at bedtime.
What makes for a successful mother/daughter book club experience that will keep both generations actively engaged?
I think flexibility is a large part of the success of any club. People have to be flexible about reading different genres than the ones they like the most, eating different foods when they go to other members' houses, and adjusting to a variety of personalities. Also, meetings need to be fun. There are so many things competing for our time and energy, if a mother/daughter book club isn't fun it won't keep members wanting to come back for more every month.
If you could choose any author – living or dead – to come to one of your meetings, who would it be and what three questions would you most like to have him or answer?
Oh that's a tough one. There are so many authors I would love to join our group for a chat in my living room. Roald Dahl, Sharon Creech, Gail Carson Levine, Markus Zusak, and of course, Christina Hamlett all come to mind. But if I have to choose one, I would pick Frank Cottrell Boyce. He's the author of Millions and Framed, little books that are large in so many ways. I expect he has a great sense of humor and is kind and understands children and adults fairly well. And I think he would ask us as many questions as we would ask him. But the three questions I'd like to ask him are:
How in the world do you find time to write when you have seven children?
How did you come up with the idea to develop TotallySaints.com as a companion website for your book Millions, and were you afraid it would be seen as too irreverent?
Why did you switch from writing screenplays for adult movies to writing books for children?
Anything else you’d like us to know?
I'll pass along the advice given to me by one of my all-time favorite authors, Gore Vidal. When I asked him if he had advice for children growing up now, he said, “Read, read, read. And don't care so much what others think about you. It's much more interesting to consider what you think about them.”